


Together

by InRainville



Category: Candy Boy
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 07:30:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 19,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6070540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InRainville/pseuds/InRainville
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-college, Kanade and Yukino's relationship is exposed with major consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Party

The holiday party at Kamiyama industries was ridiculously lavish: roast beef and sushi, chocolate fondue and pastries of all sorts. 

And beer, and champagne, and sake.

It was the sake that caused their downfall.

Kanade had come in late from her illustration job for a small mobile games company, soaked from a heavy freezing rain that turned to snow as the party progressed. Sakuya clamped on to her as soon as she came in, but Kanade was able to make her way to Yukino, socializing with her coworkers, even with Sakuya hanging off her arm.

Yukino had gotten the job with the industrial psychology team thanks to Sakuya's pull, but her coworkers really seemed to like her - certainly they all lit up when she disappeared for a few minutes, and came back in a red velvet Santa dress, handing out small Christmas gifts from their boss, laughing and smiling and posing for photos. 

The team's good will towards Yukino got transferred to Kanade - person after person pushed a drink in her hand, remarking that she looked cold, and this would warm her up. After a while, the evening became a warm haze, where she leaned against a corner, heard the people chattering around her, heard Sakuya constantly talking beside her, but understood none of it. It was all white noise while she focused on Yukino, and her dress, and her long hair, and her short, fur-trimmed skirt, feeling her heart skip a beat when Yukino would look her way and smile.

And drinking round after round after round.

At some point, Sakuya's father came out to give a short speech, and Sakuya got pulled away to stand beside him and her brother Shinji. Yukino took the opportunity to come stand next to Kanade, and Kanade grabbed her arm, swaying slightly.

"Kana-chan... you smell like a liquor store after an earthquake! How much have you had?"

"I... haven't been counting, Yuki-chan. They've just kept giving me one after another after..." she trailed off for a moment, and started whispering again. "After another..."

"Kana-chan... you just don't know how to deal with how much they drink at these big corporations. We need to cut you off before you can't even walk home."

"Yuki-chan, I'm... I'm drunk on... drunk on you!" And she started laughing, loudly and awkwardly enough to attract glances from the crowd. 

Fortunately Sakuya's father finished seconds later, to a round of polite applause, and everyone started breaking up into small groups, some headed for their coats, and home. Yukino left Kanade swaying against the wall while she ran to her teammates, bowing and thanking them and making her goodbyes. Kanade was vaguely aware of Sakuya trying to make her way back towards her from the front of the room, but she was continually cut off by well-wishers and senior management.

Finally Yukino had them out the door and down the elevator before Sakuya caught up with them. They came out into Tokyo's central business district, where people hurried out of skyscrapers through the snow into the train stations, and then stood packed together in cars, waiting for their stops. Kanade oscillated between needing to vomit and staring at Yukino, who looked back at her in concern. 

At their stop, the cold air calmed Kanade's nausea; she still felt euphoric from the sake, but energized enough to run and jump, skidding around Yukino in circles as they made their way through empty, snowy streets towards their apartment.

"Kana-chan, are you..."

"Yuki-chan, you look AMAZING in that dress!" Kanade turned to her suddenly, eyes wide. "It shows off your figure SO WELL. Your legs and your hair, it's..." She stopped and turned, facing the nearest house and yelled. "MY SISTER IS THE CUTEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

"Kana-chan!" yelped Yukino, shocked. "People are trying to... they don't want to hear about that! Stop acting like..."

"What? What? I'm only telling the truth, Yuki-chan! Do you not know how great you look? Have I not told you enough lately? I want to tell you how good you look ALL THE TIME, but..."

Yukino grabbed Kanade's arm, and dragged her down an alley where fewer people could hear. "Kana-chan... it's not that I mind what you're saying, but it's embarrassing when you say it so loud..."

Kanade's expression collapsed. "I'm... I'm sorry, Yuki-chan, forgive me! I didn't... I don't want to embarrass you! I only want to make you happy! I only want to be close to you and..." she stepped forward, her face inches from Yukino's, and put her arms around her. "I only want to kiss you," she whispered.

Yukino's face softened, and she reached out to stroke Kanade's hair, brushing away some of the snow that had accumulated. "Well, that, at least, is something we can agree on," she replied softly, and leaned forward, kissing the snow away from Kanade's eyes, and nose, and finally her lips. 

They stayed like that for minutes, under the bright LED streetlight, snow steadily falling on them, building up thicker and thicker on their hair and shoulders as they traded soft, shallow kisses back and forth.

He stood in the shadows, recording all of it, even as they stopped kissing and walked the rest of the way home, hand in hand, into their building.

Shinji stopped capturing video with his camera, and walked to the nearest covered bus stop before calling a Kamiyama Industries car to come take him home.


	2. Office

He called her into his office the first day after the New Year break, and she arrived precisely at the right time, notepad ready, posture straight, expression attentive. 

He expected nothing less from Kamiyama employees, of course.

They started with polite chit-chat about how she'd gotten the job, how she knew his sister, compliments she'd gotten from her coworkers and supervisor, the usual. It took him no more than five minutes to get to the point.

"But, Sakurai-san, what I really wanted to discuss was some of your activities outside of work."

"My activities outside... well, you know I don't have much time outside of work, of course!" she laughed. "It's not like having clubs in high school... I mostly just spend time with my sister at home."

"Your sister! Yes, that _is_ how you spend your time, isn't it? I must say, I was very pleased and surprised to see the two of you the other night. You made such a lovely couple, I thought. I even took some videos... I think you'll find they came out very well, if I do say so myself..." he said, passing her the tablet over the desk.

When using his power like this, Shinji always appreciated how clear and predictable the reactions inevitably were: an obvious, almost exaggerated widening of the eyes, the mouth slowly falling open, the face becoming paler and paler, almost like a video game where the hero's life bar was gradually drained by some attack. The only truly random event was how long it would take her to realize that they were in his office - his glass office, where she was sitting with her back to the wall, and the tablet facing out to anyone who might be looking their way.

In Yukino-chan's case, it took nearly half an minute for her to suddenly look around guiltily, clutching the tablet to her chest, and then frantically trying to stop and delete the video.

Shinji waved his hand magnanimously. "Keep the tablet, please! They're so cheap these days, and, of course, I have the original video backed up on the cloud. Amazing how that works, look, I can even project it onto the wall screen here..."

"No!" Yukino cried, standing up before calming herself and sitting back down. "Kamiyama-san, I... don't understand. Why did you... how... what..." she trailed off.

Shinji smiled and nodded. "Just as it says in your employee file - intelligent, hard working, trusting. Naive... well, it doesn't actually say that, but you can read between the lines. Your supervisor thinks its a good thing, a benefit to the company. As far as corporate survival, I personally see it as a disadvantage, but it certainly makes things more straightforward for us."

"I..." she simply sat facing him, open-mouthed. He smiled wider.

"Let me be succinct. You are a very beautiful woman, as is your sister. I would like you and your sister to be _my_ beautiful women. I would like to start by having the two of you join me at this hotel room at the date and time listed." He slid a card across the desk; she stared at it but did not pick it up. "I merely want you to do what you were doing while I watch... perhaps I will join in later, but mostly I'm fascinated to see something like this up close. Sakuya-chan mentioned that her crush was very beautiful, but I certainly had no idea that... well!"

"Sakuya... chan..." she said, still slack-jawed.

"She knows nothing about this, of course. In fact, I'm happy to leave it that way, as long as you keep quiet and follow my instructions. Nothing at all needs to change... as long as you and your sister are at the hotel. And if you're not... well, it's so easy for interesting videos to go viral these days, isn't it?"

He turned back to his screen, calling up a spreadsheet.

"You may go now. Don't forget the card."


	3. Coffee

Yukino was huddled in their shared bed when Kanade came home that evening, almost fetal. It took a few minutes of asking - which turned into an almost panicked pleading - before Yukino gestured towards the tablet, and Kanade was able to sit, perfectly still, watching the video.

"Who... who recorded this?" she whispered.

"Sh... Shinji. Sakuya-chan's brother. My boss's boss's boss. He says he'll release it if we don't... he's darkmailing, no, blackmailing us."

It was Kanade's turn to sit silently, slackjawed, while Yukino spat out the rest of the story in bits and pieces. When she was done, Kanade climbed into bed and wrapped herself around Yukino. "I'll fix this," she whispered, almost to herself, over and over. "It will be alright, Yuki-chan. I will fix this."

Which is how she found herself sitting in the coffee shop across the street from the Kamiyama Industries building, nervously fiddling with her phone, waiting for Sakuya.

She was surprised when, despite her constant, nervous glancing up at the clock and the door, Sakuya sat down in front of her without her noticing. Part of it was undoubtedly a lack of sleep the night before, but part of it was Sakuya's own demeanor - rather than unabashedly throwing herself at Kanade, or engaging in a poor attempt at stealth, Sakuya had simply walked up to the chair, sat down, ordered coffee, and sat, staring at her own phone, saying nothing.

She wasn't meeting Kanade's eyes, which had never happened before.

Kanade started. "Sa... Sakuya-chan, thank you for coming on short notice, I really appreciate it. I... we are... I wanted to talk about something your brother-"

"You have a problem, Sakurai-san. Actually, you have multiple problems, but the biggest one is my brother."

Kanade paused. "You know about...?"

Sakuya nodded, and pushed her phone across the table to Kanade; she saw immediately it was running the kissing video. "He found out we were talking, and sent it to me."

Kanade paused, and tried again. "Sakuya-chan, I... we didn't want to have to get into the details, but-"

Sakuya cut in again. "My brother... my brother and I are spoiled by our parents. For me... well, you know what I've done with my indulgences. I wanted to be close to you, but I prefer the carrot to the stick. You've largely rejected that, and I've been... satisfied... to stay at arm's length."

She looked up at Kanade for the first time. "Shinji-kun does not see things the same way. He is far more direct at getting what he wants, and, although he does not always get it, he is very ruthless in trying. Now he's taken an interest in your sister and you, and he has significant leverage."

She continued. "I believe I'm the only other person he's shown the video to, but I'm positive he has the ability to send it to a very wide audience whenever he wants, in a way that would be untraceable to him."

Kanade reached across the table to take Sakuya's hand; Sakuya held herself perfectly still in response. "Sakuya... Kamiyama-san, is there anything you... we... can do to stop him? All we want is for this to go away..."

Sakuya pulled back, looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, and then directly at Kanade. "There are many questions here. What can you do, what can I do, what _should_ I do, what should you do."

Kanade risked a smile. "You... seem very focused about this, Sakuya-chan."

"This is not a game, Sakurai-san." Kanade's smile vanished. "I am very, very serious when it comes to my family and their world. I care... cared about you very much, Kana-chan, but you have to understand that our flirtation was... an escape for me. A hobby, where I could pretend to be the bubbly schoolgirl I never got to be anywhere else. But _this_ is the world I live in, and I take it accordingly."

She sighed and looked up at the ceiling again. "The short answer is that I can't be certain of stopping him... not about this. I certainly can't physically restrain him from pushing the button, and, while normally I could complain to our parents about this kind of outrageous behavior, that's made more difficult by the subject matter and by the fact that I'm... somewhat involved in it."

"But, but you're not in the video, we're just friends..."

"Exactly, Kana-chan. I'm friends with... with someone who apparently lusts after her own twin sister. I know we've joked about it, but to actually see it on video... to my parents... to most people who actually see it... it's beyond the pale. My parents won't want the company associated with the two of you, even if the video doesn't become public knowledge. And I can't ask them to restrain Shinji-kun's behavior without describing what's on the video. In the past when he'd try to manipulate some poor girl, she truly was innocent. They'd send her to another company with a glowing recommendation, and have our people make sure that Shinji-kun didn't try anything in retaliation down the line. But that's out of the question here."

"But..."

"And there's our... relationship to consider. I was... so obsessed with you, Kana-chan. I see now that blinded me to what was going on with you and Yuki-chan. I knew the two of you cared for each other very deeply, but I didn't... I didn't realize that you-"

"Please, please understand, Sakuya-chan!" Kanade bowed as deeply as she could while sitting, tears starting to run down her face. "It... it was just a silly, drunken thing, we didn't _do_ anything! It didn't _mean_ anything!"

Sakuya stared at her for a moment, and quickly palmed tears from her own eyes. "Kana-chan... if it were anybody else you were saying that to, they might believe you. But I've seen too much of the two of you - it's not just that you weren't interested in me, you were never interested in _anyone_ but her. You may not even admit it to yourself, but as long as she's around, there will never be anyone else for you. And... I'm starting to see, from experience, how toxic that kind of obsession can be."

Sakuya stood up, and looked across the table at Kanade, who stared back, red-eyed, tears streaming down her face. 

"I..." She sighed. "I will try to make this go away, Kana-chan. There are some strings I can try to pull, but I can't promise anything. And regardless...I can't... really be your friend anymore, not after this. There's clearly no point in me pursuing you any further, and if word got out, it would be dangerous, politically, if I don't distance myself immediately."

"All I can do is give you some advice: no matter what, don't give in to Shinji-kun. He plays with his toys until they break, and I don't want that for you or Yuki-chan. If you stay away, he may lash out, but then he'll lose interest and move on, and you two will be able to try and put this behind you."

"And second, try, for your own sake, to get some distance from Yuki-chan. I... I know it's not an abusive relationship, I know it's not like you can have children together, but... but people will never understand. You'll lose so much of what you have now, and I worry how much more you'll sacrifice to be with her. There's so much you could have in life, that we could have had, I..."

She suddenly tossed a few thousand yen on the table, and turned away, pulling her coat around her shoulders. "Just let go, for both your sakes. Goodbye, Kana-chan."

And she walked out the coffee shop, leaving Kanade staring at the door.


	4. Viral

Kanade explained what Sakuya had said when she got home that evening; they spent a listless dinner at the table, saying nothing, followed by a silent evening staring at the TV, leaning against one another on the futon.

They said very little to each other the next morning, and almost nothing at all to their coworkers the next day.

A day passed.

Two.

The date Shinji had written on the card passed, and the day after that, with no incident.

Towards the afternoon of the third day after the deadline, Yukino received a text from Kanade, casually mentioning that she might get takeout that evening on the way home; Yukino responded with a single happy emoji.

Normalcy.

Five minutes later she heard Kanade's voice, quiet but clear, coming from a cubicle down the aisle.

"MY SISTER IS THE CUTEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

She stood up as if she'd been bitten, looking over the dividing walls towards the sound. One of her coworkers - a small man with glasses, she didn't remember his name - rolled his chair back out of his cubicle, stared back at her, smiled briefly, then turned back to his computer, the glare from the screen reflected in his lenses.

Kanade's voice came from another cubicle in another direction.

"MY SISTER IS THE CUTEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

Yukino stepped back, only to hear Kanade's voice coming from behind her now.

"MY SISTER IS THE CUTEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

Her phone chimed with a text message; she looked down to see it was coming from a number she'd never seen before. And then another text from another number, and another, and another.

And seemingly all around her: "MY SISTER IS THE CUTEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

Without thinking she grabbed her coat and purse, and started walking to the office. Some of her coworkers - friends - called out to her, but they were almost drowned out by Kanade's voice.

"MY SISTER IS THE CUTEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

By the time she was near her floor's lobby she was running; Kanade's exclamation fading behind her but echoing more and more loudly in her mind. She hammered on the button, waiting the agonizing 30 seconds for the elevator to appear.

Then down, the other riders looking at her quizzically because her phone kept going off.

Then their phones started to go off.

Quietly, tinnily, from two or three tiny speakers:

"MY SISTER IS THE CUTEST GIRL IN THE WHOLE WORLD!"

She started sobbing as she ran out of the building, and she didn't stop running for a long, long time.


	5. Home

Kanade wasn't home when Yukino arrived, taking a cab home after she'd nearly collapsed from exhaustion. Her phone had become unusable; there were too many texts coming in to even see if any were from people she knew.

She couldn't stop herself from looking at the Internet; "#SistersKissing" was trending, with the video, both whole and in parts, spread over all the major social platforms. 

Her phone number, and Kanade's, were prominently available, although not their physical address. 

The next few hours were spent bouncing between crying jags and pacing back and forth to the window, where she looked out in hopes of seeing Kanade coming down the street. 

The clock passed nine, then eleven, then midnight. She drifted off to sleep on the couch, clutching a throw pillow.

She gradually woke up to the sound of scraping on the door lock; the apartment was quiet and cold.

"Kana-chan?"

The door creaked open, and Kanade stepped through, the lights in the hallway outside briefly showing her stooped over and disheveled before she moved into the apartment proper, and was lost to darkness.

"Kana-chan? Is that... are you ok? I was worried..."

Yukino's eyes began to adjust to the darkness, and she could see Kanade swaying back and forth slightly, eyes still downcast.

"Kana-chan, are you hurt? Can you talk to me? I-"

"I couldn't stop myself from coming," Kanade whispered, almost too soft to hear.

"What did you say? I can't hear you, Kana-chan..."

"I should have stayed away," Kanade said, straightening up and stepping further into the apartment, showing bloodshot eyes with dark circles underneath. "Sakuya-chan said I should stay away, and it's obvious from all this I'm not good for you. I know I should just leave you alone to live your life, and go live my own. If I left you alone maybe I could have been Sakuya-chan's girlfriend! She's rich, maybe I could have been happy!" She laughed once, stepped forward again so that she was leaning against Yukino, face buried in her shoulder, and started weeping.

"But I can't let you go, Yuki-chan," she whispered, and kept crying.

Yukino said nothing, but wrapped her arms around Kanade, and started crying herself. They stayed like that for minutes that felt like hours, Yukino's senses aware of the pounding of her own heart, the pounding of Kanade's, and a powerful smell of alcohol coming from her sister.

Then Kanade kissed her.

The faint kisses they'd shared before were feathers; this was a cinderblock. Kanade held nothing back, attacking her open-mouthed, as if trying to devour her. Kanade's arms and hands encircled her, grabbing her in sensitive areas, trapping her, pulling her in. 

The kiss lasted only a few moments, then Kanade broke away with a single, heartbreaking sob.

"You... that was everything I ever wanted. Just as wonderful as I dreamed," she whispered, her voice breaking towards the end.

She suddenly kissed Yukino again, just like before, and broke away again with a scream.

"WHY? Why do I have to feel like this? Why do I need you so badly? Why... why are you so...?"

She stepped back, took a step toward the door, and another.

"I... I can do this," she muttered, largely to herself. "I can walk out of here and get on a train and go somewhere else, start somewhere new. And you," she looked over her shoulder and sobbed once more, "You can get the life you deserve without me, and you can keep your job and make new friends and fall in love and I can be happy for you, I can, I can..."

She started to walk away again, reaching for the door, and stopped.

There was the slightest tug on her left little finger, where Yukino had grabbed it. 

Slowly, gently, without moving herself, Yukino pulled Kanade towards her, grabbing onto fingers, then hand, then arm, then body, turning her around until they were facing each other.

With Kanade staring at her, wide-eyed, frightened, Yukino looked down for a moment and then back up, directly into her eyes. Grabbing Kanade's face with both hands, she brought her closer, then kissed her with every bit of passion that Kanade had given her earlier. 

Kanade almost went limp; it was all she could do to keep standing when Yukino let her go.

"Idiot. Idiot! IDIOT!" Yukino started quietly, but ended yelling, tears streaming down her face, staring directly at Kanade. "You always do this! You always assume you're the only one, the only one who wants something, the only one who can act. You never stop to realize..."

Another kiss from Yukino, more savage than the last.

"I LOVE YOU TOO! There's NOTHING you're feeling that I don't feel, nothing you're thinking that I haven't thought. I'M the one who followed you down here, don't you realize that if I'd just stayed in Hokkaido, none of this would have happened? But I couldn't let you go, I couldn't..."

She collapsed to the floor.

"I want to leave you, I do. I should have known that this would happen, should have known that we couldn't keep doing what we're doing without someone finding out. But I didn't have the strength, and I let you get closer and closer because I wanted it too, I just wasn't brave enough to reach for it first..."

Kanade knelt beside her sister, and hugged her, which Yukino returned.

"I don't care," Yukino whispered. "I don't care what else happens, I don't care what they say. I want you, Kana, I want to be with you. Forever. No matter what."

Kanade sniffled, wiped her eyes, and nodded. She stood, slowly, and offered her hand to Yukino, who took it, standing next to her, swaying slightly.

Kanade led her to the bedroom.


	6. Blocked

They didn't know what they were doing. In her wildest fantasies, Kanade had never gotten much beyond kissing. But tonight they stripped fully, and started kissing, and rubbing, and touching everywhere, discovering together what worked and what didn't.

The first time they came, mutually fumbling towards ecstasy, was like someone had dropped a bomb on their house; much of what Kanade thought she knew and understood about the world was ripped apart, revealing a new and startling reality underneath.

The second time was like a city on fire, the two of them the only things left among the embers of their old life. 

The third was a hydrogen bomb that left both of them gasping, shaking, almost too weak to move, nothing left but white heat, and Kanade, and Yukino.

There were no words for the fourth and final time.

Afterwards, they fell asleep sore, exhausted, bodies almost numb with endorphins, wrapped around each other in a tangle of limbs.

Terrified. But almost deliriously happy.

Their phones were out of charge the next morning, and they didn't see any point in recharging them. A quick glance at the Internet suggested the video was still spreading like wildfire, so they stayed off it.

Mostly they spent the day watching TV, and snacking... except for every so often, when a shared look or touch, almost accidental, sent them to the bedroom again. It was like clockwork, but totally irrational; like a glutton shut in with an infinite supply of cookies, they took and took until they couldn't stand any more, but a few hours later, they were back at it again.

A second day passed like that, and a third, with no change except the hashtag had now gone international.

On the fourth day Kanade put on a hat and sunglasses and ran to the corner store for new groceries and a disposable cell phone. While she was waiting Yukino realized that, outside of Sakuya, neither of them had any real friends in the city who might be concerned about them, or that they could turn to. They'd both let their high school and college acquaintances drift away, and their work friends were merely that. In an odd way, other than the siege mentality they were under from the video, nothing had changed for either one of them - they were still spending all their time together.

When Kanade got home, they waited for the phone to charge (and made love, while waiting). 

Their first call was to Shizuku.

Kanade made the call from the table, while Yukino listened on the couch, hearing only Kanade's part of the conversation.

"Hi, Shi-chan, it's Kanade-"

"Yes, yes, I know about the video. It's why our phones were off, we were getting too many messages from strangers-"

"It's... we're ok, but it's been hard. It's been very scary, Shi-chan, for both of us. We've mostly just been hiding in our apartment. No, I don't know what this means for my work, we haven't had the chance to-"

"Money? I think we're ok for now, Shi-chan -" Yukino nodded from across the room "- you definitely shouldn't send us any of your own money. We'll be ok, really."

"Was... was the video real? I... it wasn't like that. We... I was a little drunk, I was being silly, it... well, you know how Yuki-chan and I are, it just looks bad to outsiders, I... Shi-chan, does Mom know? Has she or Dad heard about the video yet? No? Ok, that's good, but..."

"Yes, yes, I know, they'll find out eventually. I'll... we'll figure out how to tell them, what to tell them. Don't say anything yet. We'll call back, figure out a time to talk to her. Right now, you can call us on this number, but don't share it with anybody else."

"I know, I know. Don't worry, it will be ok in the long run. Just... you just take care of yourself, Shi-chan. We both love you, and it will all work out. Ok. Ok. We love you. Bye."

Their second call was to Yukino's work; she was trembling as she dialed the number. After a long series of transfers, moving person by person through human resources, each person passing her on almost immediately upon realizing who they were talking to, she reached a senior manager who barely listened to anything Yukino said. 

The company was still reviewing the situation. She would be placed on administrative leave, at reduced pay, until a decision was reached. Her belongings would be gathered and placed in storage; if she needed any of them, they would be mailed to her. She was not to come into work until asked.

The manager hung up.

Kanade's call to her own job was less bureaucratic, but had a similar outcome. There was no ongoing process, no severance pay, just a vague mention of possible freelance work in the future, when things settled down.

Kanade hadn't been trembling when she called, but she was shaking when she hung up. They sat on the couch, heads together, arms around each other, whispering, guessing how long they could stay afloat with only their savings and Yukino's reduced pay.

That night, Yukino posed nude for Kanade's sketches for the first time. Kanade was too excited to finish the sketch without falling into bed with Yukino, but afterwards she looked at what she started and realized it was some of the best work she'd ever done.

Another day passed. That evening, the phone rang, with their mother's number listed on the caller ID.

Kanade picked it up, and turned on the speaker so they could both talk.

"Mom? Mom, is that you? Did Shi-chan give you our number?"

"Kanade, Yukino, are you two ok? Yes, it's me, Shizuku gave me the number. She told me she was worried, and... well, she explained some of what's happened. I wanted to talk to you. Are you ok?"

Yukino spoke up. "We... we're ok, Mom. Nobody's physically hurt us, it's... it's just the attention has been..."

"Ah, yes... the attention from... there's a video, I understand?"

Kanade shared a glance with Yukino before answering. "Yes. Someone took a video of us without permission. We... I was a little drunk, and acting silly, and the entire thing... it looks much worse than it is. And they put our cell numbers online, so we've been getting a lot of unwanted calls..."

Their mother sighed. "I know this is just bad luck, but... I always worried about you two being in Tokyo all by yourselves. So I'm not entirely surprised something like this happened. I'm glad you're not hurt, but I still worry. Perhaps... perhaps this would be a good time for you to have a nice long visit home, Kana-chan."

Kanade glanced at Yukino again, and looked up at the ceiling, sighing. "Normally I'd say we were too busy, but... yes, that sounds like a very, very good idea, Mom. Thank you. I think we have just enough money for the tickets, we can let you know when we'll get there..."

"Yes, but... Kanade, I thought perhaps it could just be you that comes to the house. Yukino, you should leave Tokyo too, but go on your own trip. Your aunt and uncle in Kobe would love to see you, and I can send you the money for the extra expense."

"Mom?" Yukino spoke up. "Are you... why shouldn't I come home too? After everything we've been through, I... I don't want to leave Kana-chan..."

"Yukino, Kanade... I... your father and I have talked with Shizuku. She showed us the video. I... I know what you said, that it's just taken out of context, but... but we think it would be better if you two spent some time apart. Just for a while. It will be easier if you two travel separately, you won't be as recognizable."

"Mom, we..." Kanade started, before her mother cut her off. 

"And, Kanade, we think... we think it might be a good idea for you to talk to someone. Locally. A doctor, a psychiatrist. He's a very reputable person, and he... he might help you understand why you and your sister have... this need, to be so close..."

"Mom, mother, we... we are not... we don't need to... I don't need to talk to someone about Yuki-chan..."

"Well, then it shouldn't be a problem for you to come by yourself, right Kana-chan?"

Yukino answered. "Mother, please... please don't ask us... don't ask me to leave Kana-chan behind. Not now, not with this happening."

"Yukino." Their mother's voice became stern, but there was a quiver to it as well. "Yukino, Kanade. You say the video was taken out of context, but you know what it looks like. You know what people are saying. About you, and probably about our family. If... if there is nothing to the video, then the two of you shouldn't have a problem being separated for a short while. Sisters are separated from each other all the time. The... the only reason I can see for you two to resist, and want to stay together is... is if some of what they're saying is true. Which I don't... I don't want to think is the case. But if it were, that's all the more reason for you to come home, and for you to seek help with this, Kanade."

"Either way, you must leave Tokyo, and go in different directions. If you don't... or can't... then... then you're confirming everything that people are saying about you. And I love you two more than words can say, but..." she started to sob, "But I can't stand by you while you do this. I can't be there for you if... if you two are together, and I can't let Shizuku be close to you either. P- Please, Kana-chan, Yuki-chan. For my sake, and for yours, please separate, just for a while."

Kanade looked at Yukino, who was already crying. She felt nausea in her stomach, and despair in her heart - in different circumstances, given enough time, she might be able to come up with a good argument, or a good excuse, as to why they shouldn't be apart. If this had happened before they became intimate, she might even have let Yukino go, as hard as it would have been. But now, here, for her to give her up, would have been like tearing off her own arm, or living without water, or oxygen.

And she knew, from a glance, that Yukino felt the same way. And as much as she hated herself for doing this to her family, she flew for just a moment, high on her sister's love.

"M... mom, I... we can't. I can't right now, I'm too worried about her..."

"Mother, please!" Yukino was sobbing, picking up the phone, talking directly into it. "Please just let us come home together, we can work it out, we can talk about it more, but... but please, you can't ask me to leave Kana-chan right now, she's... she's all I've got..."

"No, Yukino. You have us; your father, Shizuku and I. If you want us. But... but only... only if you can make a choice that... that I'm starting to be afraid you can never make. I just wish I had known earlier, that I had..."

She stopped. Quietly she stated, "I can't talk to you any more about this. Kanade, Yukino, I love you very much. I... only wants what's best for you. The money to leave is yours whenever you need it. But... but until you can make that choice, I..."

"Goodbye."

"MOTHER! Mother, please don't hang up-" Yukino screamed at the phone, crying, but the cheap LCD screen was already showing that the call had ended.

Yukino collapsed at the table, while Kanade leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling, tears streaming down her face.

After a time, Kanade stood and went to the entryway to put on her coat and boots. Without opening her eyes, Yukino asked, "Are you leaving me, Kana-chan?"

Kanade shook her head. "I..." she gave a short, bitter laugh. "I'll never leave you, Yuki-chan. I... I just want to get out, walk around, think and feel anything else for a while. But you know I love you, and I'll be back."

Yukino opened her eyes and wiped her face. "I love you too, Kanade. Be safe, don't stay out too long."

Kanade walked without thinking for nearly an hour, and came to a stop at a place she didn't recognize, some industrial street. It had started raining, and she stood for a moment, the artist part of her admiring how the thousand raindrops were perfectly delineated in the streetlights before falling and being replaced by a thousand more, over and over. She stood staring until she began to shiver with cold, then walked back in the direction she thought was home.

She came back late that night, Yukino already in bed, the disposable phone showing three unread text messages, all from Shizuku.

YOU CHOSE HER OVER US.

I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.

DON'T CALL ME AGAIN.

Without even thinking, Kanade texted back. "Shi-chan, I am sorry. I don't know how to explain. We love you very much, no matter what."

She hit send and drank a glass of water from the filter pitcher in the refrigerator; when she looked back at the phone it displayed a simple error message, saying her number had been blocked by the receiver.

She turned the phone off, since no one else would be calling it, and went to bed.


	7. Blonde

Kanade drifted awake the next morning staring at Yukino's sleeping face, and stayed that way for some time; examining how the dim light traced her forehead and cheeks and chin, looking at the slight flare of her nose as she breathed, and the faint twitch of her lips as she dreamed.

After a while she blew Yukino a kiss, not wanting to wake her up, and walked across the room to the mirror. Her illustrator job had afforded her more flexibility in how she dressed, compared to the corporate world, and although her hair wasn't quite as braided, tied, and otherwise unique as it had been in high school, it still had an artsy, unique twist to it.

She combed it all out so it fell perfectly straight down her back and shoulders, then tied it down at one end. She got out the scissors and began to cut around the top of her neck, until the entire length of hair fell away. She tied the other end off, having some vague idea that forty or fifty centimeters of hair might be worth something to someone, and then dug through the medicine cabinet to find a box of hair dye Yukino had purchased as a joke.

Once she was done applying, she waited.

Once she was done waiting, she walked into the shower and washed it out.

Once she was done in the shower, a nearly unrecognizable blonde woman looked back at her from the mirror. 

She went into the living room to have breakfast and wait for Yukino to wake up, which only took another ten or fifteen minutes.

Yukino didn't yell or cry when she saw, which Kanade had half expected; she merely reached up, gently, to touch her own long, light brown hair, and quietly asked "Why?"

"I need a new job, and the hair is one of the most distinctive things about me in the video. I figured with a new hair style, people might not recognize me as quickly."

Yukino poured herself a cup of coffee, and sat down on the couch beside her. After a few sips, she said, "I... will miss your hair, Kana-chan, but it makes sense. And it's not one of my most favorite things about you, so..."

Kanade, not looking at her, nodded. "More into my breasts and ass, right?"

Yukino spit out a modest amount of coffee and looked across at her sister, incredulous. "Kanade! How could you say that!? Now look what I have to do!"

She got up to get some paper towels, and finished cleaning up. "I mean, yes, your breasts _are_ your best feature..."

This time it was Kanade's turn to spit take, which led to... other things. Afterwards, Yukino stroked and played with Kanade's hair. "Yuki-chan," she started. "I know it's hard right now, but we will get through this..."

Yukino nodded, and kept stroking the newly blonde hair, running it between her fingers. "I know. Everything with Mom and Shi-chan... it's terrible, it hurts very much. But everything else... I'm not worried, Kana-chan. You've always looked after me, so I'll be safe as long as you're around. And I'll make sure you're safe as long as I'm around, so..." she looked down and kissed Kanade on the lips. "We'll be fine as long as we're together."

Kanade smiled and kissed her back, then stood up, running into their room for clothes and then throwing on her coat. "I think it's time to try this in public... maybe I can get a job at a coffee shop or something, to start. Wish me luck!"

"Good luck!" Yukino called, as she walked out the door. "Good luck, my darling," she sighed, after the door slammed.

She turned on the TV, and waited for her sister to come back, and their life to return to something like normalcy.


	8. BODY

Kanade's first coffee shop job lasted three days before a customer recognized her from the video; her manager asked her to leave almost immediately after. Once the cost of her new uniform was subtracted from her paycheck, she earned only a few thousand yen.

Other jobs followed over the next few weeks, with the same pattern - she was just barely earning a profit on days of work when she factored in transportation costs and the costs of buying the inevitable uniforms that came with Tokyo service jobs.

Soon after Yukino received word from Kamiyama Industries that she was being dismissed from her position due to unacceptable conduct. She and Kanade went to a lawyer's office soon after to discuss whether the dismissal was legal; the man equivocated and said that taking any action would require a large retainer that they couldn't afford, and strongly hinted they had no case to begin with. 

As they left, he leered at them walking out the door.

After some pleading, Yukino agreed not to cut or dye her hair, but only put it up in bun and wear glasses to distract from her appearance. With some office experience, she tried to enlist in a temporary staffing firm, but received few callbacks. 

Their savings continued to dwindle; they tried to slow the progress by selling whatever they could. Books, toys, music, movies, even the TV vanished from their apartment until they were down to clothes, toiletries, a few art supplies and a shared laptop.

They were having breakfast one morning before heading out for job hunting when a man knocked on their door. He was in his forties, pudgy, balding, with a wispy mustache and heavy cologne.

Kanade opened the door with the chain on - he stuck a ten thousand yen note through the door before she could get the word "Hello" out.

"I just want five minutes of your time, and then I'll leave. The money is yours if you just let me in."

Kanade paused, then looked back at Yukino who shook her head in bewilderment; Kanade sighed and took the money, opened the door, motioning him to the table.

He sat down and waved Yukino off as she moved to get him something to drink; they stood facing him as he began to talk. 

"My name is Ataru Mitaka, and I run a club in Roppongi: 'BODY'. My card." He placed it, face up, on the kitchen table, ignoring any protocol in how these things were done. "I will not waste time with meaningless chit-chat, because I have a proposition for you, and I want you to think only about that."

"In short, you two are the women in the 'Sisters Kissing' video. I have verified that you are actually sisters, and that you are not actors, or exhibitionists, or any kind of adult entertainers. Amazingly, you are exactly what the video makes you out to be - two normal, innocent sisters who appear to be in love with each other."

He shook his head and smiled. "It is actually somewhat amazing to actually meet you in person. In my line of work, I deal with all softs of people pandering to men's desires - I know girls who pretend to be sisters, I know sisters who pretend to be in love, I've seen so, so much that I've almost begun to believe that there is no relationship in the world that isn't powered by money at some level."

"But the two of you aren't like that... and ironically, that makes you very, very valuable to me. Simply put, people want to see you. People want to observe you. Even if you're not kissing, even if you're just sitting there, people want to find out more about the real thing that you represent. So my proposition is simply this: three nights a week, an hour a night, one hundred thousand yen apiece. You simply sit on a pedestal at my club, on a couch, together. Fully clothed. No one touches you, no one even speaks to you. If you'd like to kiss, you do so... but nothing more than that. Just hold hands, or hold each other, while people get to look."

Yukino shook her head. "I don't understand... what do you mean, one hundred thousand yen?"

Mitaka laughed. "I mean I will pay you one hundred thousand yen a night - and your sister the same - to basically sit on a couch together while people pay to come see you in person. The Sisters Kissing... even if you're not kissing. The two sisters - twin sisters, I understand - who are so in love with each other, and so adorably innocent in that video. That authenticity is real, and I can sell it, and it can make us all a lot of money for as long as people are interested."

"I've done my investigation, I know you're in financial distress, and this could be..."

"No. Get out."

Kanade couldn't meet his eyes, but she stood back and pointed at the door.

He smiled again, and stood up. "If you're sure..."

"We are. Get out now, please."

He shrugged, but kept smiling. "Well, I can't coerce you - that would defeat the whole purpose. You have to be there willingly. So... please keep me in mind. I've left my card, and if you lose it, just remember: Mitaka. 'BODY.'"

He walked out to the door, turned and bowed politely. "Good morning." He closed the door.

Kanade stood looking at the floor, opening and closing her fists. Yukino tentatively stepped over to her, taking her arm gingerly. "Kanade... are you ok? If you're not sure about this... I mean, we could use the money, and I can do it if you want to..."

Kanade shook her head fiercely and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "No. No. We're not doing it, I'm positive of that."

Yukino nodded. "Ok."

Kanade sniffed and looked up, facing Yukino squarely and taking both her hands. "I... I need to tell you why. It's not just a spur of the moment thing, ok?"

"First, I don't want to be pushed into something like this under duress. I... I don't have a problem with dancers or bunny girls or... or any of those women, if they choose to do it because they want to. But nobody should be forced into doing this because they need money, and that includes us. We weren't pushed into anything by that bastard Shinji, we won't be pushed into this."

"Second, I don't trust how it'll work out in the long run. Right now it's 'oh, just sit on the couch and hold hands,' but that becomes old and commonplace and we have to do more and more for less and less money, and I think it will wear us down, and I... I won't subject you to that, I won't have you get old and tired and hard for some club promoter."

"And last... he's right. He's right that there's something special between us. What we have... it's not normal and maybe it's not right or healthy but it's real and I love you and I love being with you and it's ours, you're mine, and I'm not sharing that, I'm not sharing you, not with anybody, not for any reason. It's selfish but I don't care - you are mine forever, and that's the way it will stay."

"Oh, Kana..." Yukino leaned over and hugged Kanade tightly. "I'll follow you anywhere, but..." she laughed, even while crying. "It means so much to me that you feel that way. I love you too, and I don't ever want to have to share you. Not ever."

Kanade hugged Yukino back, and they stood there for a few minutes, sniffling quietly, before Kanade broke away. "There's just... one problem with being noble, or selfish, or whatever. We... we can't afford this apartment anymore, Yuki."

Yukino nodded. "I figured as much. But... where do we go now, Kana-chan? It's scary, but you know I'll follow you anywhere."

Kanade looked around the room and laughed. "We're already down to so little... I think we pack up whatever we have left, and just... go camping. We'll be homeless for a little while, but maybe we can find a shelter, or... I don't know. We'll be together."

Yukino nodded. "Together." She walked to Kanade and put her hand on her cheek, then kissed her. "Let's go to our bed while we still have it."

Kanade nodded, took her hand, and led her away.


	9. Blue

They left at the end of the month, walking out the front door with almost everything they owned stowed away in two backpacks. 

Kanade had taken a few days off from job hunting to look into women's shelters, but had quickly realized they couldn't stay at any of them without explaining why they couldn't find steady work. Since she couldn't think of a lie that would hold up over time _and_ let the two of them stay together (not to mention sleep in the same bed), living on the streets looked to be the least bad option.

Unsurprisingly, the Internet had a large community of homeless people, giving out advice on everything from safety to shelter construction to reviews of coffee houses and public baths. In a weird way, the experience made her feel optimistic - they weren't completely broke, and had enough time to prepare for where they were going. She sold their bed, couch, and almost everything else online, using the money to buy sleeping bags and camping gear and, most importantly, ropes and blue tarps that they'd use to build a temporary shelter, according to the painstaking instructions she'd found on the net. She even picked out what seemed to be a good location, at a small green space near a train station with decent amenities nearby.

They walked most of the way to their destination - it was a long walk, but they made a day of it, buying snacks and drinks and taking frequent breaks to sit and relax. They made it there around 3pm, taking a quick tour of the area before finding a seemingly open area and starting to build their shelter. 

It didn't come together as they'd hoped; it was harder to get the ropes tight than the directions suggested, and the blue tarp didn't tie down firmly enough. With the sun about to go down, they sat inside of their makeshift tent with a gentle breeze rippling the tarp enough to see the outside every three or four seconds.

Just then, a gentle voice called from outside of their walls; they stuck their heads outside to find a tiny elderly woman in a thick gray cardigan bowing politely, an adorably ugly pug circling around her heels.

"Hello! My name is Kyoko Mitsui, and I'm your, haha, next door neighbor. This is Yu, my dog. Welcome to our little neighborhood."

Yukino was out first, bowing and introducing herself, with Kanade close behind. Before they could advance much further with chit-chat, Kyoko interjected, "I see you're having some trouble with your shelter, may I assist?"

Kyoko wasted no time in guiding them to retie the ropes and reset the canvas, leading to a far more stable setup. Afterwards, she refused to stay for dinner or a drink, explaining that she had to go home and take care of Yu... although she agreed to come back for dinner a different night. 

Their dinner that night was ramen with veggies cooked over a small camp stove. Yukino ate enthusiastically, and seeing her happy, however forced, made Kanade smile. Afterwards they walked to a local mini-mart to buy water (and discretely use the restroom) before crawling into the two sleeping bags they'd zipped together.

The night had turned cold and foggy, and they huddled together for warmth in the cheap sweatshirts they'd bought in advance for nights like this. After a few minutes they stopped shivering and Kanade could take some time to enjoy the feel of Yukino, her back spooned against Kanade's front, Kanade's face buried in her hair and shoulder, Kanade's arms wrapped around her stomach.

"You're so warm, Kana," she murmured, turning to quickly kiss Kanade's cheek before turning back to snuggle closer. "I like this... I think we'll sleep well tonight."

"I think so, too, Yuki-chan. Good night." Kanade kissed the back of Yukino's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Yukino did sleep through the night, but Kanade woke up more than once, bothered by random noises she couldn't automatically place: trains and cars in the distance, people walking by the park and by their tent, voices calling to each other, just distant and low enough not to be comprehensible. After each awakening she tensed herself, waiting to see if there were any indications of danger, then let herself relax, squeezing Yukino and letting herself sleep again.

They woke the next morning and headed to a nearby public bath under cold but sunny skies; afterwards they shared a simple, quick breakfast, hugged, and set off in different directions for job hunting, feeling like the next part of their life had begun.


	10. Itch

Life quickly settled into a routine; they both found jobs where the hours were sporadic, but at least longer-term. No one recognized them, and their savings actually increased since all they had to buy was food.

Their little blue shelter began to look and feel more like a real home, with secondhand rugs, cushions, and battery-powered lights. They made acquaintances with other residents of the area, but it never went much deeper than that - Kanade quickly realized that everyone had some personal shame or tragedy that brought them here, and nobody wanted to share their past or push too hard into anyone else's.

For a few weeks things became, if not perfect, than at least livable.

The scratching began soon after.

Yukino wasn't even aware of it at first - she was simply reaching behind her head to itch when she noticed that no one was sitting around her on the train, although there were several people standing.

And one or two of them were looking strangely at her, she thought, as she reached behind her head again... and stopped.

She tried to avoid scratching for the next few minutes, even as the itching became more and more intolerable. She made it through the rest of the train trip by concentrating on her breathing and biting the inside of her lip when necessary, and practically ran home - that's what the tent was at this point - as soon as she got off, only to find Kanade sitting outside, scratching at her own head.

They consulted the Internet almost immediately, and manually searched each others' hair as soon as they understood their symptoms.

The little bugs crawling on their pale white scalps were unmistakable.

Yukino begain to cry. "I'm so sorry, Kana... the blankets and pillows, I bought them second hand, but I never thought that they'd be infested, I never thought that..."

Kanade shook her head. "It's not your fault, Yuki. I didn't think of it either. It's just... it's just bad luck, is all. What we need to do now is figure out how we'll deal with this. It looks like our treatment options are to buy a special treatment shampoo, use it, wash everything, use it again in ten days, wash everything again..."

"That might be... difficult, right now..."

Kanade nodded. "Or... we can just shave our heads for a few weeks."

After a moment Yukino burst out laughing, which turned to crying in a few seconds. Kanade reached over to hold her, then stroked her hair, rocking back and forth.

"It's just... I thought to myself that all this started because of that stupid video, when you wouldn't shut up about my hair, and now..."

Kanade chuckled, and kissed her forehead. "I do love your hair, I really do. But it will grow back, and, looking on the bright side, nobody will recognize us from the video with shaved heads..." Yukino laughed. "And besides," Kanade continued, "after all this, your hair is pretty far down on my list of my favorite things about you..."

Yukino made a face. "Is it... is it my boobs? At the top of the list?"

Kanade laughed, and shook her head. "No, your lips," she said, and kissed her passionately.

They borrowed scissors from Kyoko, stopped at a convenience store for other necessities, and did what they needed to do by that early that evening; the cold air felt strange on their scalps, but the itching died off almost immediately. 

"You still look beautiful to me, Kana," Yukino said softly, after it was over.

"You too," Kanade replied, as she closed her eyes and pressed her forehead to Yukino's for a moment.


	11. Scarf

Their ability to get jobs was hurt by the weeks of baldness that followed. Kanade went with a long silk scarf tied around her head, and Yukino wore a series of cute knit hats - cats, birds, Pikachu - but prospective employers soon asked why they were wearing the headgear, or asked what had happened to their hair. No answer was sufficient to satisfy them, especially not the truth, so Kanade suggested they look at the next few weeks as a kind of forced vacation - at least they weren't getting recognized from the video at the moment.

Which is how she found herself at the coffeehouse, sipping a cup of their cheapest blend and practicing sketching on her computer tablet.

"I love your scarf," the waitress said as she worked to clear the next table.

It took Kanade a moment to realize she'd been addressed, and another to figure out who was talking to her; a young woman with a mix of Japanese and western features, roughly her age, dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and an apron.

"Thank you," she replied, and gave a slight smile. But the rejections of the past few days still stung, so she said nothing more.

"Actually, it's funny, two of my last three girlfriends had shaved heads, and we were in Chicago, so they had to try a bunch of different stuff in the winter to keep warm. The fuzzy hats were cute, but generally girls who purposefully shave their heads aren't into cute, so it was a real mismatch. I liked the scarves the best, because it looked so elegant - kind of like long hair, if you looked at it from a distance - but, y'know, shaved-head girls like that generally aren't trying to be elegant either."

"I..." she was totally at a loss how to reply to this, but the girl continued.

"Anyway, look, I'm sorry, it's a really cool look, just not one I see over here in Tokyo all that much. So I just wanted to say that. I'll let you get back to your work, but can I offer you a refill on the coffee first?"

"Yes, please, thank you!" Kanade gave a little bow, returned by the waitress, and she left to refill the cup. 

Kanade settled back down and looked around the coffeehouse. She hadn't paid much attention when she came in - she'd just been looking for somewhere to get out of the rain - but she was starting to understand how atypical it actually was. The vast majority of shops she'd worked in lately had taken pains, in one way or another, to present some version of class, polish, or comfort in both the decor and the waitstaff uniforms. This place, with exposed brick work, metal tables and chairs, and odd abstract art on the walls, was almost the opposite of that. Strangely enough, she felt comfortable here, even as she noticed that many of the people working here had obvious tattoos, piercings and aggressive hairstyles. 

When the waitress came back, she asked if they were hiring; the waitress winked and took her into a back room to meet with the manager.

Kanade walked out with a new part-time job, starting the day after tomorrow, and an invite for Yukino to come in to interview as well. It was only upon leaving that she saw the name of the place, in a metal sign hanging over the door: "Options".


	12. Breakfast

They both started working at the coffehouse, a few hours here and there turning into more regular shifts, sometimes even at the same time. As winter advanced to spring, their hair grew out and they took turns dyeing it various unique colors, partially to draw attention away from the video and partially as a way of bonding with the other staff, all of whom had opinions on the right color. 

Their savings slowly started to accumulate, even after food, supplies, and the occasional luxury were taken out. At this rate, Kanade estimated they might even have enough for a deposit on a new apartment by the fall.

In the meantime, the tent had almost begun to seem like home. After the lice incident, their furnishings hadn't given them any more trouble, and, although they were mostly stuck inside when bad weather hit, Kanade began to realize that spending time with Yukino was most of what she wanted out of life. All things considered, the time she spent with her sister - talking, laughing, playing, cuddling, or even just quiet companionship - was more valuable to her than the money she earned from a job that kept them apart more often than not.

Yukino felt the same way, but did a better job of planning on how to express it.

The day started with the smell of real breakfast - hot coffee, eggs, bacon, and pastries. None of Kanade's recent mornings had started with anything but cold water and trail mix, so it was hard to separate reality from the dream, especially since Yukino kissed her, lightly, on the lips, to wake her up.

"Yuki... what's..."

"Good morning, Kana! Breakfast in bed for you today! And I let you sleep in since you had a late shift last night and neither of us works until tomorrow. Try the coffee first."

Kanade, somewhat bemused, took a slow sip of a rich latte with cinnamon. After a second sip, she asked, "Is... is this from the coffeehouse? Tastes like it..."

Yukino nodded. "I got everything from Options. I placed the order last night and they had everything waiting for me first thing in the morning - all I had to do was get it before you woke up. And I made it just in time!"

Kanade took another sip, and lay back in bed, enjoying the softness and warmth and the realization she had nothing else to do today except relax. "Is there a special occasion for this, or...?"

Yukino shook her head. "Nope! Just wanted to treat you to something nice!"

"Mmm... have you had breakfast yet?"

Yukino shook her head again, and smiled. "Thought you'd never ask..." she said, climbing into bed beside Kanade.

Afterwards they dressed and stepped out, stretching in the late morning sun. The winter weather had turned to spring, with a steady breeze and high cumulus clouds stretching over the city. Before she could say anything Yukino took Kanade by the arm and started leading her towards the hiking path along a local river. 

After a while, Yukino started to babble happily about various things - work gossip, the nice weather, cute outfits worn by passersby - and Kanade let it wash over her, enjoying the feel of Yukino's head on her shoulder and the smell of her soap drifting over.

They stopped near a shopping center a few stops down from their train station. Yukino surprised her again by pulling out wrapped sandwiches and bottles of juice from her coat, and they ate on a bench, people-watching the foot traffic.

Afterwards Yukino stood up and pulled Kanade up by the arm, then led her, pinkies linked, into the mall and the chocolatier there. Before she could protest, her sister had already run up to the counter and purchased a small assortment box, which she presented to Kanade.

"Yuki, we can't afford this..."

Yukino was practically jumping with enthusiasm. "We can, we can! I saved up over the past week, everything's on me! Just hurry up and have some so I can have some too!"

Kanade looked over the inside box lid, which listed the various fillings and flavors, finally settling on a pineapple cream for herself and a mint chocolate for Yukino, who closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and ate it like a baby bird. 

They walked around together for the rest of the afternoon, doling out the sweets two at a time, talking and playing. During a brief downpour, they ran hand in hand to a small pedestrian tunnel where they made out while waiting for the rain, Kanade pushing Yukino up against the wall, each tasting a hint of chocolate on the other's lips and tongue.

They ended the afternoon on the grassy lawn near their camp, Kanade lying with her head in Yukino's lap while her sister gently brushed her hair with her fingers.

"Yuki-chan... can you tell me, honestly, why we did what we did today? It was wonderful, but I just want to understand why."

Yukino smiled. "Oh, Kana," she said, leaning over and kissing her forehead. "Honestly, there's no real reason beyond the fact that I love you and love to see you happy. Life has had its ups and downs recently, but we're still together and closer than we've ever been. I know it seems odd, but..." she looked away for a moment and sniffed. "There are some things that still hurt, and I wish were different, but things, in a way, are better for us than they've ever been. And I wanted to take a day to remind you... and me... both of us that... what we've got is so, so wonderful, no matter what else is happening."

Kanade curled up on her side, took one of Yukino's hands and kissed it. "I was thinking the same thing." She looked up again. "But this was the best possible way to be reminded of it. Thank you, Yuki."

"You're welcome. Should we go get dinner? I meant to tell you, once the sun goes down the day is over and it's your turn to pay."

Kanade sighed, stood, and led her sister off by the hand to the nearest noodle shop.


	13. Noise

Kanade had never slept deeply since leaving the apartment - there were just too many outside noises for her to fully relax. Which is why she came out of sleep so quickly as the disturbances began, eyes popping open and brain starting to take stock of what was going on, even as she remained perfectly still, arms wrapped around Yukino's belly.

The noise started as distant yelling, voices rising and falling, getting closer all the time. Their neighborhood was no stranger to drunks making a ruckus at odd hours, but this was different - more coherent, more people involved. Some of the voices sounded like women.

Kanade didn't move to get up, but gently shook Yukino's shoulder, and whispered in her ear. "Yukino... Yukino, wake up. I think something's happening..."

Yukino stirred, eyes still closed with sleep, and murmured, "Kana-chan? What's... it's too early, I want to keep sleeping..."

Kanade put her hand over Yukino's mouth, shushing her, as the sides of their tent begain to shake from someone tapping on them.

"Hello? Hello? Who's there, homeless people? Don't you want to come out and play?" The voice was young, male, and clearly drunk, but there was an undercurrent of menace between the drunken silliness. 

There was suddenly a tearing sound coming from the wall, and a knife point appeared through the tarp, followed by a large gash through which they could see the outside streetlight, partially blocked by their attacker. There was another stab, and suddenly Kanade was on her feet, racing for the entrance.

"Stop it! Stop that! Who do you think you are, this is our home-"

Another man, not the stabber, suddenly appeared in front of the entrance, and Kanade stepped back, pulling the sides of the tarp together to block most of the view of inside. A fleeting thought crossed her mind, that she was glad their winter pajamas weren't particularly revealing. 

The second man was completely drunk, she smelled the reek of alcohol on him before she even heard his words. "Well, hello! Who are you? We thought it was just trash old people here, didn't realize there were hot girls here too!" He turned back to address someone else. "Hey Chiba-san, check this out! There's hot girls in this one..."

Kanade felt herself pushed aside, and before she could react Yukino had pushed her aside and was outside of the tent, yelling with an intensity she'd never heard before.

"GET OUT! Get out of here RIGHT NOW! You are NOT WELCOME, and you are bothering us! GO HOME!"

She was stunned for a moment to hear the ferocity in her sister's voice, but then looked around and grabbed a small knife from their cooking area, hoping in the dark that it would look bigger and sharper.

Their attacker looked momentarily confused, then smiled and reached out to grab Yukino's shoulders. "Well, hey, you just don't know us that well yet." He dragged her closer. "Come here and give me a kiss and you'll like me a lot better..."

Yukino squirmed, and he brought his face closer, but then grimaced in pain as Kanade lunged at him with the knife, stabbing him in the arm. "Aaah, damn it!" he yelled, lashing out and pushing them both away. Kanade landed on her back deeper inside the tent, while Yukino landed against the outer tarp, leaving her only partially fallen and knocking the tarp and rope out of alignment.

"God DAMN IT!" The attacker screamed, starting to advance, hand to his harm where he'd been hurt. "That hurts! You are going to pay for that-"

"Yatsuya! Chiba! The police are here! We need to go!" One of the attackers was calling from the edge of the park, and elsewhere in the park men started running away, yelling and whooping as they went. Their attacker paused then started to advance again as the sisters got to their feet, Kanade desperately searching for the knife. 

"Yatsuya! The cops are here! The cops are coming!" One of Yatsuya's friends had come up behind him, and was pulling at his arm. Yatsuya shook him off and stepped forward.

"I don't care, man, one of these bitches stabbed me and I'm gonna..."

"HELP! HELP US, PLEASE!" Yukino started yelling. "POLICE, HELP, WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!"

An expression of uncertainty spread over Yatsuya's face, and he spat at Yukino, then turned and started to run. "BITCHES!" He yelled. "WE'LL BE BACK!"

And, almost as quickly as it began, it was over. Kanade ran to Yukino and hugged her.

"Yukino, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine, Kana-chan. Are you?"

"Yes, fine, just fine, that was-"

"Hello! Are you ok? Were you yelling? Who was-" A uniformed police officer came running through the dark, flashlight swinging side to side. But he slowed down as soon as he came close to them, squinting and shining his beam directly into their faces.

"Ah, more homeless..." he said, his voice dropping and becoming less excited.

"We live _here_ ," Kanade said as Yukino blinked in confusion. "We were attacked in the middle of the night. Isn't that what matters?"

"Of course," the officer said mechanically. "And after any such assault we would send a follow-up officer to your home address to take a follow-up statement. If you would care to provide me with an official address, I can certainly schedule such an appointment. In the meantime, I am afraid I will have to ask you to clear this illegal and unsanitary encampment immediately."

"That... that's not... I mean, we can't..." Kanade stuttered.

"I can of course offer you an immediate escort out of the area, and direct you to some local shelters. However, they are likely to be fairly busy tonight, as police operations in this area are removing all homeless from this park. Is there anything else I may do to assist you?"

Kanade stood there with her mouth open, and felt shame and confusion begin to turn into burning tears. Yukino swiftly stepped in. "No, thank you officer. We fully understand and will vacate the area in just a few minutes, as soon as we can gather our necessary possessions. Is that acceptable?"

The officer nodded, and walked off without another word.

Yukino came over and hugged Kanade for a moment before releasing and looking her directly in the face. "Kana? Kana-chan? Listen to me... I know this was scary and upsetting, but we need to leave soon. I think we can afford a hotel for one night while we figure out what's going on, but we need to pack. So look," she said, leading her back into the tent, "I need you to gather the most important things: money, valuables, clothes, toiletries, ok? Just put them in a bag, and hopefully we'll be able to come back later. In the meantime, I need to go check on some people."

She walked out of the tent, calling over her shoulder, "I'll be right back. Just get started!"

Kanade started to work mechanically, the anger that would make her hands shake suppressed by the task at hand. The regular, day-to-day mess of their home quickly turned into a pair of tightly-packed bags, with all the valuables collected in her purse.

Meanwhile, Yukino quickly walked through the park, nodding and exchanging brief words with the other residents, who were also rushing to pack and leave. She stopped by Kyoko's tent, which was unmoving and silent, except for a faint whining.

She called out Kyoko's name, tapped lightly on the tarp, and, after a moment, stepped in.

A few seconds later she ran out, Yu following at her heels, and started calling for help.

The police arrived within a few moments, walking slowly, with looks of suspicion on their faces, but they quickly called for EMTs after looking in the tent. And after the EMT came, he left the tent after a minute, shaking his head. By that point, Kanade had caught up to Yukino, and had the situation explained.

"Does she have any relatives that you know of?"

Yukino shook her head. "None that we know of. Everyone here keeps to themselves about such things. Is she really...?"

The nearest officer nodded, and the EMT offered up, "Looks like a heart attack."

"A heart attack brought on by those maniacs tonight!" Kanade interjected angrily. "She was fine just this morning, she must have been frighted, literally, to death by those-"

"We can't prove any such thing, and if you're not relatives you should leave the area now," the policeman said, coldly.

"Just because she was homeless doesn't mean she didn't matter! You can't..."

"If you would like to be arrested tonight, we can make that happen-"

Yukino cut through the crosstalk by pulling Kanade back and quickly facing her, holding up Yu and putting him in her arms. "I know, I know," she whispered, "But we can't make everything right all at once. Let me do what I can, just _please_ calm down, Kana!" She turned back to the officer.

"Officer, we understand," she said, bowing slightly. "We'll go and stop bothering you. But her little dog needs looking after, and I believe she'd want us to do that. Can I go back in the tent for a few of his things, and then we'll leave immediately?"

The policeman rolled his eyes, then waved his hand towards the tent and walked away. Yukino went inside, and emerged a minute later with dried food, bowls, a collar, and a leash, both of which went on Yu.

Then they walked out of the park, gear on their backs, dog following behind, headed for the nearest love motel.


	14. Sketch

Life became easier and harder after they lost the shelter; they had more of a support network through work, and there was a constant rotation of people who'd let them stay in their apartments for a few days. Even just a couch, or a tatami mat for a sleeping bag, was a luxury for them compared to sleeping outdoors, especially when there was a bathroom with a shower available.

On the other hand, they could never stay in one place very long, and any real intimacy between the two of them was out of the question - their friends knew they were sisters, but Yukino and Kanade had gone out of their way not to show any real physical affection between themselves. They addressed all these issues by staying at cheap hotels when nothing else was available, but it was hard to find a hotel that allowed dogs, and it cut into their savings.

They stopped by their old home later that next day, but the police had thoroughly swept the area, leaving nothing behind. They'd discussed starting over again, buying the needed supplies and setting up camp somewhere else, but Yukino confessed she didn't feel safe outdoors anymore, and Kanade agreed with her.

Still, they'd become used to spending a lot of their time outdoors, and as spring advanced to summer, they found themselves in parks often: exercising Yu, cloud-gazing, and, for Kanade, sketching.

"What are you drawing?"

Kanade startled, and hid the tablet in embarrassment before realizing it was just a girl asking her a question; she relaxed and uncovered her drawing. "Nothing, just... silliness, I'm drawing my sister and our dog playing..."

"Hmm... but your sister has dog ears herself, in the drawing." the girl said, peering closer.

"Yes, well..."

"I like it, it's very cute. Will you draw me next?"

"I... we're not really planning on staying that much longer..." she said, trying to ignore the giggling from Yukino that indicated they'd be staying at least an hour longer, playing with the dog.

"What if I paid you five hundred yen?" The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a coin.

Kanade paused, pretending to chew her stylus for a moment. "A thousand," she said, eventually, hating herself a little for bargaining with a ten year old. But, she reminded herself, she was homeless, disowned, an international laughing stock, etc. The universe owed her... and besides, the girl had approached her first.

"Ok," the girl said, not even pausing before reaching for another coin. "But you have to draw me with kitty ears."

Kanade nodded, opened a new canvas, and got started.

That evening they were crashing at a friend's apartment while she was out of town. Kanade was tearing through all the manga collections she hadn't read over the past few years, while Yukino was playing with their tablet. Yu slept at their feet, dreaming and drooling.

"Kana-chan..." Yukino said idly. "This drawing of the girl..."

"I told you, she offered me money, I didn't make her pay..." Kanade started defensively.

"No, no, it's not that, it's just that you did two different versions."

"Oh, right. Well, she didn't like the first one, she wanted to have her eyes closed in the drawing. So I just made a copy and edited it on the fly. I thought I erased the original..."

"No, it's fine, look... if you switch back and forth between them, it looks like she's blinking!" She giggled.

"Congratulations, you've just discovered basic animation, Yuki-chan." She rose and kissed her sister's forehead. "I'm going to bed, you coming?"

"In a minute," Yukino said, still giggling and flicking the pictures back and forth. Kanade shrugged and almost dove into the covers.

The next morning she woke with Yukino snoring loudly next to her. After bathroom and coffee, she picked up her tablet to see the picture of the girl from yesterday. 

The girl blinked at her once, and then again. She kept blinking every few seconds, but randomly, as far as Kanade could tell. She looked at the file information, and saw it was a single animated GIF, but altered in some way she couldn't quite figure out.

Kanade started to tab through some of the other open pictures, and saw other old drawing of hers altered to combine different versions, animating the difference. The result was... hypnotic, even though the effect should have been trivial. It was like her drawings had come alive in some small way.

"Do you like it?" Kanade startled as Yukino walked up behind her, sipping coffee. "I was up late last night playing with some things, and I ended up making a bunch of those from your old drawings. I actually even ended up making a little program to animate the difference between two of them and produce a single file..."

"Yuki, this is... kind of amazing," Kanade said, continuing to flip between the different images. "I didn't know you knew how to do this kind of thing."

Yukino smiled. "I didn't, just figured it out. I mean, I was always good with math, and they had me playing with programming at Kamiyama. That was fun, but it never went anywhere. But last night, I just got in the zone and..." she shrugged. "I really am glad you like it, Kana. Do you want rice for breakfast?"

Kanade grunted and nodded, as she opened up her email account and added a reply to the girl's address, this time attaching the animated image. "One more version," she typed, "Thought you might be interested. Let me know what you think."

By the time they'd finished breakfast, the girl had replied back. "My friends all want one just like this. When will you be doing commissions next?"

By noon they were at the park again, and by sunset they'd sold twelve more animations, at two thousand yen apiece.


	15. Dinner

A few weekends of sketches and they'd saved enough for a deposit on an apartment - tiny and noisy, but secure, pet-friendly, and close to both parks and the coffeehouse. 

Between regularly scheduled shifts at work they developed a rhythm. When there was an outdoor festival or event, they set up a series of displays, showing off full color animations of Kanade's work and soon had a line of eager customers. (Kanade worked mostly alone, not wanting to draw attention to two women who might even now be recognized as the #SistersKissing.)

Afterwards, they reviewed what people responded to, and what took the most time for Kanade to do so Yukino could expand and refine the software. At night Kanade practiced her drawing with a passion thought she'd left behind in college, and across the table Yukino coded. They lost some of the closeness they'd had living in the shelter, with only the barista jobs to worry about, but actually collaborating with each other had its own pleasures: looking up to share a quick smile, and exchanging the occasional kiss, before diving back in.

Kanade was only vaguely aware of what Yukino was talking about when she said she'd started a GitHub project for the animation software, but she did notice it started taking more and more of Yukino's time.

"But it's ok, Kana," Yukino said when she asked her about it. "I'm actually getting more out of it than I'm putting in - there's a lot of people out there who have graphics skills that I don't, and they're helping both of us for free! The hair-blowing-in-the-breeze effect? That was done by an Estonian student at CMU in America!"

"Well... if you're sure..."

"I am, I am, trust me! This is all optimized for real-time content creators, and it turns out there's a huge demand for that!"

Kanade shook her head, again only roughly understanding what Yukino was saying. "Ok, ok! I'll be quiet about it, as long as you're ok with it."

"I am, Kana, I promise," Yukino said, leaning over the table to kiss her quickly and then leaning back in to her work.

Kanade's style became well-known enough that she was able to start her own website and sell artwork online - all through a pseudonym, of course, to keep dodging the #SistersKissing attention - but there was slightly more time to enjoy weekends on their own terms, rather than as an endless succession of events to work.

She was still somewhat surprised when she got a text from Yukino to meet her at a restaurant near their apartment; it wasn't that they never ate out at restaurants, but it usually required an event of some sort, like a birthday. Today was just a Thursday, as far as she could tell.

And she almost turned back when she saw what kind of restaurant it was - French, with uniformed waiters and tablecloths, wine and desert trolleys. She had just started to turn around when she became aware of Yukino behind her, taking her arm and walking her forward to the maitre d' to claim their reservation.

"Yuki... we can't afford this..." she whispered as they were led into the back of the restaurant, approaching a central table underneath the chandelier.

"Yes, we can, Kana, trust me," she whispered back.

"But..."

"Kana." Yukino stopped them in the middle of the restaurant and turned to face her, arms on shoulders. The maitre d' walked a few more steps before noticing they weren't following and stopped, waiting patiently.

"Kana, we can afford this. _Trust me._ "

Kanade took a deep breath, nodded, and walked the rest of the way to their seats.

Yukino ordered for them, and leaned back in her seat, legs crossed, taking a long drink from a tall water glass before speaking again.

"I... we... received two really interesting offers today, based on the animation software. The first is a full time job offer, for me, in California, to work for Adobe. They make Photoshop and a bunch of other stuff, and they're working on a project that's really similar to what we've been doing, but with a lot more resources behind it. And the money... they'd pay nearly ten times what we're making now."

She took another sip from her water glass.

A few seconds went by before Kanade realized her mouth had literally fallen open; she closed it and swallowed. "Yuki... Yuki-chan, that's amazing." She laughed out loud. "That's _amazing_! How would... when would... how does it...?"

Yuki looked down and gave a small, wry smile. "Well... that's the catch. They're willing to pay relocation expenses and get me overseas in about a month. They'd pay for a spouse or domestic partner to come over as well... if I had one."

"If you had... oh," she said, realizing what Yukino was saying. "Even... even in America, they wouldn't see us as..."

"No." Yukino shook her head. "I mean, I didn't ask, but I didn't even want to bring up the subject, especially with the video out there. Now, once I went over there and got settled, maybe started the citizenship process, other family who wanted to join me would get priority in their applications, but that could take years."

"Years..." Kanade looked down at her plate, upon which an elegant gold-trimmed soup bowl had been placed, full of a peppery orange bisque. She swallowed again. "It... it's so much money, and such a good opportunity, Yuki. If you really wanted..."

"Of course not, Kana, don't be silly." Yuki took a spoonful of soup, smiled at the taste, and took another. "We decided we're together forever, no matter what. I was just pleased to be asked."

"Then... can we really afford this, Yuki-chan?" Kanade asked, confused. "I think we have enough in our account to cover it, but..."

Yukino smiled again, this time more broadly. "Ah, but there's a second offer on the table. It's... very interesting."

Kanade took advantage of the pause to taste some of her soup, which was indeed wonderfully rich and spicy. Unable to stop herself, she had a few more spoonfuls in quick succession, then looked up again to see Yukino grinning at her.

"Good, isn't it?"

Kanade guiltily wiped her mouth, and nodded. "So, what about the second offer?"

"It's a fellowship, actually. I'd just keep doing what I'm doing right now, creating and managing projects, contributing to various open source efforts, and they'd pay me about double what we're earning now. The fellowship would last five years, with five year re-evaluation periods that could be extended indefinitely."

"Wow, that's..."

"It's just about perfect, actually." Yukino reached across the table and took both Kanade's hands in hers. "The money's not much, but if we're careful with it, and don't change our current spending too much, we'll be able to build up an actual retirement fund in ten or twenty years. And they're only interested in my professional output, so no real chance of people investigating or recognizing us. We can be together without anyone bothering us."

Tears came to her eyes as she realized what Yukino was saying. "So... that's it? All of the wandering, all of the rejection, if we take this, it's just... over? We stay in our little apartment, and the world more or less leaves us alone?"

Yukino nodded. "That's why I thought it was worthy of celebration. Excuse me!" She turned and called over a waiter. "May we have a bottle of champagne?"

As they waited for the champagne to arrive - and started on their main course, splitting a perfectly cooked rack of lamb - Yukino paused. "There's one other thing I meant to say. The fellowship... the name of the fellowship is the Kamiyama Industries Support for Japanese Open Source Development."

Kanade paused, the fork halfway to her mouth. "Kamiyama... do you think that Sakuya had anything to do with it? Or Shinji?"

Yukino shrugged. "It's possible, but they actually gave the fellowship to my pseudonym, not even my real name. And it's hard to see how this would be any kind of punishment, or control, so... probably not Shinji. Maybe Sakuya-chan is doing it by way of apology, or maybe it's just a fluke. Either way we're saving up the money, and if they decide to cut it off, we've lost nothing."

She laughed, and lifted her champagne flute. "Sooo... to Kamiyama Industries!"

Kanade lifted her flute, but shook her head. "No. To us, Yuki. Forever."

Yukino reached across to tap glasses, and nodded. "To us, Kana. Forever."

They finished their main course and followed it with an overwhelmingly rich piece of chocolate cake before leaving the restaurant, slightly tipsy, walking arm in arm through a soft summer night rain.

But they saved the kisses for home, once they were behind locked doors and drawn shades, alone together at last.


	16. Niece

Forty years went by, in long days and short decades.

Work never changed, except that they were able to leave the coffeehouse jobs for full time art and programming. They moved around, but never to any place much fancier than a small efficiency. They made friends and acquaintances, but nobody got close enough to see their real relationship, and nobody stayed in touch more than a few years. Yu died, and they replaced him with various pets who also passed away, in their time.

Through it all, they had each other; every night Kanade went to sleep with Yukino nearby, and every morning she woke up to see her sleeping face. Looking back, she remembered thousands of long walks along parks and rivers, tens of thousands of meals shared, and almost countless times they held hands, or kissed, or made each other moan, or sigh, or cry out, together, in the dark.

It was a life with only one flavor, in only one shade, but it was perfect.

When they hit their early fifties, they started planning for retirement by taking trips around Japan, thinking about where they wanted to retire. They gravitated towards small communities on the coast, looking closely at beach houses. Kanade suggested going back to Hokkaido, but Yukino shook her head, saying nothing. Kanade never brought it up again.

Finally they settled on a small town in northeast Honshu, and a small brick house on a bluff, near the town and the beach but not close enough to either to attract much attention from passersby.

They'd been there more than ten years when the woman knocked at their door.

She was tall, pretty, and stylishly dressed, in her late 20s; those were the first things Kanade thought when she opened the door.

The second thing she noticed was how tired and sad the woman looked.

"Hello, my name is Hanae Mitsuda," she said, bowing slightly. "Forgive my directness, but are you Kanade or Yukino Sakurai?"

Yukino came up behind Kanade and answered. "I'm Yukino, and this is Kanade. How can we help you?"

The woman dug in her bag and presented a photo, which Kanade instinctively took. It took her a moment to recognize the woman in the photo - she'd grown older, her face was fuller, her hair was cut short, and she was surrounded by three children - but then it clicked.

"Shizuku. Oh, God, Yuki, it's Shizuku..."

Yukino took the photo and put her hand to her mouth, eyes starting to water. The woman bowed again, and said, "Shizuku Sakurai married Tenma Mitsuda; I am their middle child. I... again, forgive my directness, but may I come in? There are things we should talk about, and questions I would like to ask."

"Of course, of course," said Kanade, motioning her in. Yukino kept looking at the photo until Hanae had taken off her shoes and was walking past her, at which point she grabbed the younger woman in a bear hug. "I just realized you're our niece. Oh..." she said, and stood back, and bowed. "I apologize, I just..."

Hanae bowed back, but said nothing and continued to the living room.

She sat and waved off tea, but did accept a tall glass of water, which she drank thirstily. She put the empty glass down on the table, looked down, sighed, and then looked at the both of them, sitting on the couch across from her.

"I... am sorry to inform you that my mother, your sister, died of cancer four months ago, in Kobe."

"Shi-chan!" Yukino cried out once, and doubled over, sobbing. Numb, Kanade reached out to put her hand on her back. "I... I am so sorry for your loss. Thank... thank you for coming and telling us."

Hanae nodded; now that she had more context Kanade could clearly see the woman was still in mourning. "I... thank you. If... if it helps, you should know that the disease was very rapid. She lived a very full and happy life almost until the very end, and she was surrounded by her husband, children, and four grandchildren when she died."

Yukino sobbed silently; Kanade kept stroking her back and nodded. "Thank you, that does help. We... I'm sorry, I'm not sure how to approach this situation, how to talk to you..."

Hanae sighed. "I understand the feeling. Let me continue to be direct: I would like to understand who you are, and why my mother never spoke of you. I had no idea that my mother had any siblings until after she died and I had to look at family birth certificates for legal reasons; it took me even longer to find out that you were still alive and living here."

"Shi-chan... she never spoke of us? Ever?" Yukino asked softly.

"She did not. There were no photos, no papers, nothing. Admittedly, some of that might have been because her parents' house burned down when she was in college..."

Yukino gasped again. "Our... your grandparents, were they...?"

"They were not harmed in the fire, but they did pass away soon after. I never met them, I'm afraid."

Kanade took a deep breath. "When you were looking for us online, did you find anything that answered your question? As to why Shizuku and our parents cut us out of their lives?"

Their niece shook her head. "No, I didn't. You two have a surprisingly small footprint online. There was metadata which suggested you were more active forty years ago, but I'm not skillful enough to do a proper search from that long ago. Once I found where you were, I thought perhaps I should just ask you in person."

"We... Shizuku was upset that... you see, the two of us..."

Yukino straightened and took Kanade's hand. "Kana, it hardly matters now, does it?" She turned to Hanae and addressed her directly. "My sister and I... we were lovers. Are lovers. Forty years ago we were exposed, publicly, on social media, and ostracized. Our parents... your grandparents, found out, and cut ties when we refused to separate. Shizuku was upset, she felt that we had chosen each other over her and the rest of the family, and stopped talking to us."

She started to cry again. "I... I feel terrible that I haven't thought of her in so many years. It was... just so painful, for them to cut ties like that, and we were having such trouble ourselves, earning money, finding a place to live... I just..."

Kanade squeezed her hand and spoke. "It was... very difficult. We just retreated from everything else. Perhaps Shizuku did the same. Perhaps if we'd tried to reach out, things would have been different, but..."

Hanae sat perfectly still on the couch, unmoving, without an expression. "I... I see. I was... not sure what I would find, but I'm still not sure how to process this."

She said nothing more, and for a few moments, silence reigned in the house. Then Yukino started sobbing quietly again, and turned to hug Kanade. Kanade hugged her back and stroked her hair, with one hand, holding the photo of Shizuku in the other.

"What... what were you hoping to find, by coming here? Once you found out who your mother's sisters were, what were you planning to do?"

"I hadn't really thought it through, rationally." Hanae sighed, and kept looking down at the floor, then out the window at the ocean, not making eye contact. "I suppose... part of me was hoping to find long lost family, and make up for the loss of my mother that way. But now..."

"We... it's a shock, meeting you, finding out about Shi-chan, but we're not opposed to-"

"No." Hanae shook her head and stood. "I'm sorry. I'm not here to judge you, or bring any more pain, but I don't think it makes sense to try and build any kind of relationship here. Why my mother cut ties all those years ago... it's been so long, and I can't imagine how we would explain where you've been, and why she never spoke of you. For you it would open so many old wounds, and for myself, and my sister and brother, dealing with this in the middle of mourning for her... this was a mistake, and I need to leave."

She bowed again, more deeply. "I'm sorry, for disturbing you and for bringing you this grief. Please forgive me."

Kanade was still numb, and somewhat stunned from what her niece had just said, so she did nothing but continue to hold Yukino, still crying, as Hanae walked out the door. However, just as Hanae finished putting on her shoes and was opening the door, she looked down at the photo again.

"Wait, Hanae-chan," she called out. "This photo, I have to ask... this is you? In the picture? And the girl you're next to, is she... is she your sister? Did Shizuku have twins?"

Hanae stood perfectly still for several seconds, the door partially open, her hand still on the knob. Then she closed the door and turned back to them; Yukino had stopped crying, and was looking on intently.

"Yes. Yes, that is myself, my twin, Ritsuko, and our younger brother, Gen. Twins... run in the family, it seems."

"Then..." Yukino spoke softly, but loudly and more urgently as she continued. "Then are you like us? You and your sister, are you... did the two of you...?"

"No." Hanae's voice was loud, angry, firm... and perhaps just a little too insistent. "My sister and I... no, we are not like you. We never..."

"You never what?" Kanade rose, moving towards Hanae, the grief and numbness becoming pushed aside by something like anger. "You never were physically close to your sister? Never wondered why you should have to be apart from her? Never raged against the idea that you had to leave her to spend time with other people who would never know you as well as she did, would never love you like she did?"

Hanae's face hardened, and she stood straighter, arms held close to her sides. "Ritsuko and I were close, of course. There was a time when she meant more to me than anyone. But we outgrew that. Grew up, moved on with our lives, found new people, new worlds. We didn't stop living because we couldn't bear to be apart. Not like..."

"Not like us?" Kanade had moved close now, standing directly in front of Hanae, eye to eye. "So you found someone else to love? Do you have a husband? Or a wife? Children? Or are you still mourning what you used to have, and seeing us reminds you what you wanted to..."

"No!" Hanae was enraged now, and she took a step forward, so there was almost no space between her and Kanade. "No, I'm not married, but Ritsuko is, to a man she loves. And she has children, nieces and nephews she loves, I love. She's built a family, and I've built a career, and we're happy, and we're happy for each other! What... whatever schoolgirl crush we, I, might have had, it's nothing compared to what we've done with the rest of our lives. And I'm sorry that you never outgrew that crush, and sacrificed your family and the whole rest of your lives for it, but you're not going to drag me down to your level..."

"OUR level? You know _nothing_ about what we-"

"Kana, stop." Yukino's voice was soft, as was the hand she laid on Kanade's shoulder, but it silenced her instantly. She pulled Kanade back, and stepped in between the two women.

"Mitsuda-san, I am sorry that things have become heated. I thank you for visiting and bringing us this news, however tragic it might be. And I agree that it would be best for you to go, and not contact us any further. If you and yours are happy with your lives, then we are happy for you. And it is your right to think what you will about us. But we are who we are, we have made our choices and we would not change anything, not for anyone. That being the case, I think there is nothing more to say."

She bowed deeply. "Goodbye."

Hanae's face was still twisted with anger, but she bowed at precisely the same angle as Yukino. "Yes. I agree. Goodbye, Sakurai-san."

Kanade joined the bow, and did not raise her eyes from the floor, or stand up, until she heard the door slam. As she stood, Yukino was immediately in her arms, crying again. 

After a moment, Kanade felt something shift inside of her, and she began to cry as well, wrenching sobs surfacing from deep within, letting loose years of sorrow and loss she hadn't even been aware she was carrying.

They stayed together, holding each other close and crying as the sun set behind their home, leaving the ocean outside their windows a dimming purple haze, lit only by faint stars on the horizon and the lights of fishing boats heading out to sea, growing smaller and more distant by the moment.


	17. Horizon

Kanade would periodically paint the shoreline at sunset, bundled in a knit sweater against the chill sea breeze, sitting on a simple wooden bench and trying to capture the delicate shift of the horizon from blue to indigo to black.

She was painting on an early autumn evening when Yukino came back from the doctor for the last time.

Yukino sat down next to her and said nothing for a time, just looked back and forth between Kanade's painting and the far horizon. In turn, Kanade said nothing but focused on her painting, filling in details and colors as the evening progressed.

Finally Yukino spoke, starting with a sigh that betrayed a catch in her voice. "So... the doctor got the test results back. And they do explain why I've been feeling so tired lately."

A few seconds passed, and Kanade casually replied. "Oh? What did they show?"

Yukino paused again, for nearly a minute, before saying, quietly, "Cancer. They don't... it's... not the treatable kind."

Kanade nodded, but kept painting. After another pause, she asked, "How... how long do they think... what will the progress be? How long will you be... able to..." She stopped, unable to finish.

Another sigh from Yukino. "A few weeks. After that, it could be a very long and..." She stopped, and shook her head. "They recommend that I take the euthanasia pill before it gets to that point."

Kanade kept painting, not looking at Yukino. "They... they do say it's... painless, almost pleasant, the formula they offer these days. I... I know it's still scary, but... but we'll be going through it together, so no matter what, we'll-"

"Oh no, no NO, Kana! Please, not you too!" Yukino started crying for the first time, hugging her sister and burying her head in her shoulder. "I don't... you're fine, you've got to keep... I can't stand it if you..."

Kanade hugged her back, and stroked her hair as Yukino broke down, sobbing hysterically. Kanade herself said nothing but rocked her back and forth making gentle shushing noises until Yukino's sobs had calmed.

"Yuki, I... I know this isn't what you want to hear, but whatever happens, you know I... I have to come with you. There's not... The idea that there's any kind of life for me without you, we settled that a long time ago. This is-" her voice broke, and she sobbed once herself. "This is just the last step on a journey we started after that damned video. And-" She sobbed again, but laughed at the same time. "And maybe it's just the next step, you know? Whatever happens after we go... we'll discover it together, Yuki-chan. Together."

Yukino sobbed a littler harder, and squeezed her sister more tightly. After a few more minutes, she asked, almost in a whisper, "You... you're sure there's nothing I can say-"

"No." Kanade cut her off almost immediately. "Where you go, I go, my love. That's all there is to it."

Yukino held her tighter, and, after a few seconds, gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. Then she took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, shuddering once or twice as she did so. She stood, and reached down to offer Kanade her hand.

"Ok, then. Let's go inside and talk."

And Kanade left her brushes and canvas behind, following her into the house where they planned out the rest of their lives.


	18. Chocolate

When all was said and done, Kanade was almost pleased how few things she had on her bucket list. She'd never dreamed of travel, of riches or of fame. Most of her youth had been focused on art, and on dreams of Yukino, in some form or another. She hadn't reached her professional goals in quite the way she expected, but she wasn't ashamed of the work she'd done, of how she'd spent her time.

And her dreams of Yukino had been fulfilled a thousand times over.

So there were a few last trips around the country - back to Tokyo, and back to Hokkaido, even if returning brought them as much sorrow as nostalgia. And there were long walks along the beach, and dinners at their favorite restaurants, and every kind of treat or delicacy they could think of... although Kanade couldn't help but notice that Yukino's appetite was visibly declining as the days went on.

And at night, most nights, there was being together, making love slowly and gently, recapturing in some small way the white heat of passion they'd had all those years ago.

They bribed the pharmacist for a second dose of the euthanasia pill - it wasn't uncommon for elderly couples to want to go together. And after a bit of research, Yukino found what she thought would be the perfect way to take it.

So as the sun went down one last time, they worked on a final dinner together, with roast duck and potatoes, rich soup and garlic bread, music and wine and candles and stars and a fire in their fireplace.

And at the end of the meal, two perfect chocolate cakes, dusted with sugar and cherry sauce, each containing a ground pill.

They each devoured the dessert, both exclaiming over how delicious and perfect it was, even as they both realized that there was a bitter, medicinal taste that all the sugar and chocolate couldn't quite hide.

The pill was slow acting; they had enough time to change into pajamas and climb into bed, a gradual warm euphoria taking hold and dragging them down towards sleep, and beyond.

And so they found themselves laying together, facing each other, each with an outstretched hand intertwined between them.

A last thought flashed across Kanade's mind as she sank deeper and deeper, and she spoke to Yukino, who already had already closed her eyes.

"Yuki-chan... I don't know what's going to happen next, but I thought... I was thinking reincarnation, with you, might be nice..."

Yukino didn't answer, but smiled and nodded, her eyes still closed.

"But, I was also thinking... perhaps next time we don't have to be sisters? It would be so much simpler if we... just had a normal relationship next time. Perhaps you could just be an ordinary boy and I could be the girl next door and we could meet and fall in love the usual way, and... and that would be nice..." she trailed off, closing her eyes. 

Yukino smiled wider, and opened her eyes, leaning across to kiss Kanade one last time before settling back into position. She shook her head.

"Kana-chan... you... you're so silly! Don't you realize that, if there is such a thing as reincarnation, we've already been through this? And you've already asked me that before? And I've already told you what I'm telling you now... if I have any power to change how things go, we'll be together in this exact same way. Forever. Because..." She stopped, and yawned, and closed her eyes again. 

"Because I'm just too selfish, and I could never bear to be away from you like that, not for any length of time. If it's up to me, Kana, we will always start together, from the very beginning, and end together, just like this. And everything else... none of it means anything, as long as... as long as I'm with you..."

She stopped speaking, trailing off into nothing.

Kanade kept her eyes closed, and whispered back, almost too low to hear. "Ok... ok, Yuki-chan. Whatever happens, I'll see you on the other side."

And they slept, and dreamed, and waited for what came next. 

Together.

_End_

**Author's Note:**

> So... this series angered me, for a few reasons. I didn't care for the way they used incest as winking titillation, and I was frustrated that the lead characters had almost no agency in pursuing the relationship they wanted (although that's common for a lot of manga/anime). And the title is TERRIBLE. (And yes I understand where it came from.)
> 
> (And, you may ask, what better way to respond to an anime you don't like than with a 80-page novella? To which I reply... quiet, you.)
> 
> But seriously, I love the trope of two characters in close quarters, in financial difficulties, living mostly for each other, which the series did do a good job of evoking. So this fic tries to address a lot of those issues, and unearth what I see as the real core of the story. If you've read this far, thanks - hope you enjoyed, and feedback, whether positive or negative, is always appreciated.


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